Legislation -
Concurrence Vote Passed
(Senate)
-
March 22, 2012

Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that prohibits insider trading by government officials.

Highlights:

Prohibits members of Congress, employees of Congress, judicial officers and employees, and executive branch employees from purchasing securities that are the subject of an initial public offering in any manner that is not generally available to members of the public (Sec. 12).

Prohibits an individual convicted of an offense under this bill from collecting retirement pay or annuities through the Civil Service Retirement system (Sec. 15).

Prohibits members of Congress and employees of Congress from using nonpublic information derived from their positions as members or employees of Congress to make a private profit (Sec. 3).

Specifies that members of Congress and employees of Congress are not exempt from the insider trading prohibitions in various securities laws including, but not limited to, the Securities Exchange Act (Sec. 4).

Requires members of Congress, employees of Congress, and executive branch employees to disclose financial transactions in excess of $1,000 involving stocks, bonds, commodities futures, or other forms of securities within 30 days of each transaction (Sec. 6).

Requires financial disclosure forms filed by members of Congress and employees of Congress to be made available to the public on the official websites of the Senate and the House of Representatives within 30 days of the date the forms are filed, and prohibits either site from requiring users to create a login to view the material (Sec. 8).

Defines “member of Congress” as a member of the Senate or House of Representatives, a delegate to the House of Representatives, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico (Sec. 2).

Specifies that “executive branch employee” includes the President, Vice President, and employees of the United States Postal Service (Sec. 2).

Legislation -
Bill Passed
(Senate)
(96-3) -
Feb. 2, 2012(Key vote)

Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

Vote to pass a bill that prohibits insider trading by government officials.

Highlights:

Specifies that employees and members of Congress, executive branch employees, and judicial officers are not exempt from the prohibitions against insider trading (Secs. 4 & 9).

Prohibits employees and members of Congress, executive branch employees, and judicial officers from using nonpublic information that is derived from their official positions in order to make a private profit (Secs. 3 & 9).

Defines executive branch employee as including the President and Vice President of the United States and employees of the U.S. Postal Service or Postal Regulatory Commission (Sec. 2).

Prohibits public officials from performing official duties for the purpose of knowingly benefitting a financial interest of one of the following, and does not disclose required financial information regarding the person or organization benefitting from the act (Sec. 211):

The public official;

The public official’s spouse or minor child; or

A business, organization, or person with whom the public official has a current or prospective business relationship.

Requires the following government employees to file reports disclosing transactions exceeding $1,000 in stocks, bonds, and other securities within 30 days of the transaction (Sec. 6):

Members, officers, and employees of Congress;

The President and Vice President of the United States;

The Director of the Office of Government Ethics;

Any federal executive branch employee whose appointment was subject to confirmation by the Senate;

Any federal executive branch employee who is a non-career appointee in the Senior Executive Service, the Senior Foreign Service, or other similar senior personnel systems; and

Any federal executive branch employee appointed by the President of the United States.

Requires the following government officials to file reports disclosing any mortgage exceeding $10,000 that is secured by a personal residence of the reporting individual or his or her spouse (Sec. 13):

The President or Vice President of the United States;

Members of Congress; and

Executive branch employees whose appointment was subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Exempts the disclosure of “widely held investment funds” from financial reports, provided the funds meet one of the following criteria (Sec. 14):

Are publicly traded; or

Contain assets that are “widely diversified” and the individual cannot exercise control over the financial interests held by the fund.

Requires financial disclosure forms, filed by employees and members of Congress and executive branch employees, to be made publicly available on official websites no later than 30 days after the forms are filed (Sec. 8 & 11).

Requires political intelligence consultants to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and to disclose their political intelligence activities (Sec. 17).

Defines “political intelligence” as information that is derived from direct communication with an employee of the executive or legislative branches that is sold to a client who intends to use the information in making investment decisions (Sec. 7).

Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress a report on the role of political intelligence in the financial markets within 12 months of the enactment of the bill (Sec. 7).

Prohibits senior executives at the Federal National Mortgage Association (commonly referred to as “Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (commonly referred to as “Freddie Mac”) from receiving bonuses during the period of their employment, to take place after the enactment of the bill (Sec. 16).